What you need to know…

CONSIDER DESIGN CAREFULLY

Some soundbars are slim but come with a separate subwoofer; others are bigger and manage without. You’ll need to think about the space you have before choosing one. For example, if you’re putting it in front of your TV, check the soundbar’s dimensions to make sure your stand has the width and depth to hold it. You’ll also want to check your chosen soundbar doesn’t obscure the TV.

If your soundbar comes with a sub, place it to the side of the TV as close to the soundbar as possible.

WHAT IS DOLBY ATMOS?

Atmos is a smart piece of tech from audio whizzes Dolby, which adds height to a surround sound experience. In a cinema, where it was first used, this would be carried out by as many as 64 speakers, placed around and above the listener. At home, soundbars attempt to recreate this experience by using angled drivers that bounce sound off your walls and ceilings. We are now seeing films released with Atmos soundtracks and even streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime support it.

GIVE YOUR ATMOS SOUNDBAR ROOM TO BREATHE

Atmos soundbars generally work by bouncing sound off your walls and ceiling to create a 3D surround sound effect. If you’re spending the cash on the extra processing, you don’t want to hide the soundbar away on a shelf inside a TV rack. If you do that, then the built-in height and side channels that fire sound upwards and outwards won’t be effective. Give an Atmos soundbar some room to breathe for the best possible performance.

IF YOU’RE GOING FOR ATMOS, MAKE SURE YOUR SETUP SUPPORTS IT

If you’ve just bought a new Atmos soundbar and connected it to an older TV, you might be disappointed to learn that your TV isn’t capable of processing the Atmos sound. To bypass old telly tech, some soundbars will allow you to run your HDMI sources through the bar instead, but not all of them do. Do your research before buying to ensure you get the most from your setup.

KNOW YOUR INPUTS

You’ll usually connect a soundbar to your television via an HDMI or optical digital connection. More affordable soundbars will usually only offer the latter, but if you have the option for HDMI, take it. HDMI will offer you the highest resolution sound decoding that your soundbar is capable of. You’ll usually need to connect the soundbar to an ARC or eARC HDMI port on your TV for it to work though, so check that yours has one first.

MAKE THE MOST OF OTHER SOUNDBAR FEATURES

Many soundbars come packed with a bunch of features that make them really useful, even when you’re not watching TV. Look out for Bluetooth connectivity so you can listen to your music and podcasts via the soundbar, high-res network streaming and even multi-room playback. You’ll also find a growing number of soundbars with built-in voice assistants, so be sure to get all the features set up if you’ll find them of use.